Tag: Insurance

Let’s Defraud Seniors

This is post is for all those Americans that have had their 50th birthday surely they have received their official letter inviting them to join AARP (where did they get your birthday info)……

The big deal these days is that Medicare Advantage plans for us pre-dementia seniors….to me they seem like a scam and not worth the cash they cost….seems I am not the only one with such thoughts….

I recently wrote about the deceptions that insurance companies are pulling on seniors…

Those MediCare Advantage Plans

Now further info has been given to help seniors know what is being done to rip them off…..

Insurance giants are exploiting Medicare Advantage—a corporate-managed program that threatens to result in the complete privatization of traditional Medicare—to capture billions of dollars in extra profits, Saturday reporting by The New York Times confirmed.

The newspaper’s analysis of dozens of lawsuits, inspector general reports, and watchdog investigations found that overbilling by Medicare Advantage (MA) providers is so pervasive it exceeds the budgets of entire federal agencies, prompting journalist Ryan Cooper to call the program “a straight up fraud scheme.”

Nearly half of Medicare’s 60 million beneficiaries are now enrolled in MA plans managed by for-profit insurance companies, and it is expected that most of the nation’s seniors will be ensnared in the private-sector alternative to traditional Medicare by next year. Six weeks ago, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) launched an inquiry into “potentially deceptive” marketing tactics used by MA providers to “take advantage” of vulnerable individuals.

As the table below shows, almost every major player in the industry has been accused of fraud by a whistleblower or the U.S. government. In addition, the vast majority are engaged in rampant upcoding, or exaggerating patients’ illnesses in order to reap more money from taxpayers—something they do while refusing to provide necessary care for tens of thousands each year.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/10/09/straight-fraud-data-confirms-private-insurers-use-medicare-advantage-steal-billions

Seniors should research this before they commit to a monthly deduction to their Social Security benefits.

Remember if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is just that….too good to be true.

Please do not fall for the glowing promos….you need to be more vigilant for these parasites will suck you monetarily dry.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those MediCare Advantage Plans

You have seen the ads…..everybody sells these plans, even AARP, that say they can put money back into your Social Security check….but what of these plans?

First of all the whole US health care system is a scam.

But what of these ‘advantage’ plans?

At least one Senator is not convinced these are anything but a deception….

Sen. Ron Wyden on Tuesday launched an inquiry into “potentially deceptive” marketing tactics being used by private insurers and other companies that offer Medicare benefits through Medicare Advantage and Part D prescription drug plans, citing “alarming reports” about contractors “engaging in aggressive sales practices that take advantage of vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities.”

In his capacity as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal healthcare programs under the Social Security Act, including privately run Medicare Advantage (MA) and Part D drug plans, Wyden (D-Ore.) sent letters requesting more information from 15 state insurance commissioners and state health insurance assistance programs.

The letter—sent to officials in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas—comes amid a surge in complaints about MA and Part D marketing materials that purport to inform seniors of their coverage options.

In May, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which has the authority to regulate materials used to market MA and Part D plans, reported that complaints from seniors more than doubled from 2020 to 2021.

…

Among other things, Wyden wants officials to provide data on the number of complaints about MA and/or Part D marketing materials they have received in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, including possible patterns of discrimination, as well as “examples of potentially false or misleading marketing materials and advertisements in MA or Part D, including mailers, robo-calls, websites, television commercials, and online advertisements.”

Of Medicare’s 60 million beneficiaries, nearly half are enrolled in MA plans and 50 million are enrolled in Part D plans. Corporations that manage MA plans have come under fire for upcoding, or exaggerating patients’ illnesses in order to reap larger payments from the federal government—something they do while refusing to provide necessary care for tens of thousands each year.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/08/23/wyden-launches-probe-deceptive-marketing-medicare-advantage-plans

So the question remains….is Medicare Advantage a necessary expense?  Is it a scam?

My thoughts are this is an unnecessary expense with promises that may not be realized or needed.

Watch This Blog!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Pandemic Health Care

Since this pandemic has started effecting the country there has been a debate about health care….people are losing their coverage and Dems have stepped up to help…….

Did they come up with a plan to get all Americans coverage?

NO they did not!

Their solution is to help insurers make even more profit off this disease.

Say What!

The Dems want to pay private insurers during the pandemic……

An unprecedented number of people are losing their jobs in the United States right now. Because of the employer-dependent health care labyrinth we have set up, that means an unprecedented number are also losing their health insurance. The new group of uninsured only adds to the huge chunk of the country—nearly 30 million people—that were already uninsured before the coronavirus hit.

Private health insurers’ primary motive isn’t keeping people healthy, but to cut costs, maximize profits, and deny coverage to boost their bottom line. Yet Democrats’ big idea to help insure people is to effectively subsidize that largely reviled industry. Vox reported on Tuesday that House Democrats are going to push for a bill to fully cover premiums for COBRA, a health insurance program that allows workers to keep buying into their employer-sponsored plans after they are laid off.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/7kzygq/democrats-big-coronavirus-idea-is-to-subsidize-health-insurers

This should be a wake up call to all Americans that the Dems will protect the insurance and Big Pharma over the people.

Never fall for the BS that they, the Dems, are working on getting all Americans health care…..and yet the American voter falls for their lies hook, line and sinker…..every time!

Be Smart!

Learn stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Thoughts On Medicare

FYI

So many people are either retiring or already having to suffer through retirement.

As a retired dude I am always concerned about my medical costs……for instance….I am a diabetic and my insulin cost me $400 if I were in Canada it would cost me $32…….so yeah I am always worried about the cost of my medical care.

The AARP, that seniors program that helps us get discounts and stuff, has been pushing this Medicare Advantage plan which will pick up the parts that Medicare does not pay……but is it all that or is it worth the money?

While the Democratic presidential candidates are debating full Medicare for All, giant insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare are advertising to the elderly in an attempt to lure them from Traditional Medicare (TM) to the so-called Medicare Advantage (MA)—a corporate plan that UnitedHealthcare promotes to turn a profit at the expense of enrollees.

Almost one third of all elderly over 65 are enrolled in these numerous, complex MA policies the government pays so much for monthly. The health insurance industry wants more enrollees as they continue to press Congress for more advantages.

Medical Disadvantage would be a more accurate name for the programs, as insurance companies push to corporatize all of Medicare, yet keep the name for the purposes of marketing, deception, and confusion.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/11/22/wake-aarp-message-seniors-medicare-disadvantage-corporate-trap

there is a bamboo stand that needs some attention.Since the weather has changed again in South Mississippi….I need to work a bit in the yard…..there is a bamboo stand that needs some attention….

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Closing Thought–14Aug19 #2

Your lucky day….something for nothing…..more closing thoughts than time…..

Yes Irene the nation is having that discussion a gain…..that gun discussion.

There is always a wealth of answers to the problem of gun violence…..from all out gun control to background checks…..and everything in between with proponents for each type of solution.

Now I have seen one that show some thought and imagination…..and it comes out of San Jose…..

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is today proposing a city ordinance that would require firearm owners to either carry liability insurance or pay a fee to cover public costs of gun violence to the city.

Why it matters: San Jose is reeling from the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting last month that killed 2 children and 1 adult and injured a dozen more. The city, the 10th-largest in the U.S., is the first to propose this kind of “harm reduction” measure to curb gun violence.

How it works: If approved by the city council, the measure would require San Jose gun owners to have private liability insurance.

  • If such insurance is not available, or if an individual is not able to purchase coverage, firearm owners could pay a fee intended to help cover the costs to city police and emergency services related to gun violence.
  • That payment would need to be protected with strict privacy standards, possibly using blockchain technology, to comply with California’s state law that precludes local governments from establishing gun registries.

https://www.axios.com/san-jose-mayor-gun-owners-liability-insurance-0af1883a-a801-41c5-a4e9-0433c48f835f.html

This will not prevent anyone from getting a gun or guns…..it will not hurt the NRA as a matter of fact they might make a comeback financially by selling this insurance….

I have no problem with this….I must have insurance to drive my car…..so why not my guns?

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Taxes Come And Taxes Go

This is one of the few posts I will ever do on the ACA (Obamacare) because there is way too much BS flowing around the subject……but there is a firestorm going on on the web because of something a restaurant did to its patrons……

An otherwise nondescript restaurant chain in Florida is suddenly national news thanks to a new policy: Gator’s Dockside has added a 1% surcharge to cover the costs of the Affordable Care Act, reports CNN Money. Participating restaurants aren’t trying to hide it, either. “The costs associated with ACA compliance could ultimately close our doors,” reads a sign to patrons. “Instead of raising prices on our products to generate the additional revenue needed to cover the costs of ACA compliance, certain Gator’s Dockside locations have implemented a 1% surcharge on all food and beverage purchases only.” An executive with the chain estimates that it will cost $500,000 a year to provide all its workers with insurance when the employer mandate kicks in next year, and she figures the surcharge will bring in about $160,000 annually.

As one would expect there is a wealth of opinions…….

  • Dumb move: “Obviously, the restaurateur is thinking about this from the perspective of an angry talk-radio-listening Republican rather than that of a hard-headed capitalist,” writes Jonathan Chait at the Daily Intelligencer. “There are costs associated with all kinds of government regulations and spending, but he’s not creating a line item on his tab to highlight his share of, say, financing the Department of Defense.”
  • Smart move: “As the surcharge shows, Obamacare is no free lunch,” writes Katrina Trinko at the Heritage Foundation. “Most businesses probably won’t opt to add a specific surcharge in order to cover their new health care costs, but some will certainly raise prices—or reduce quality of their products. Obamacare hasn’t driven down the costs of health insurance, or found a magical new source to cover those costs.”
  • Similar move: Eater notes that a popular Los Angeles restaurant, Republique, asks diners to pay a 3% surcharge for employee health care costs. The restaurant makes it optional, however, and says it is not specifically tied to the new law’s mandates.

Now my take……you may call it whatever you like surcharge or tax….it is the same thing……my problem is with the 16th amendment…….

Article I, Section 2, Clause 3:

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Number

Article I, Section 8, Clause 1:

The Congress shall have Power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States.

If it is a tax then why is only one individual doing it?  The name is irrelevant……..it is like the visit to the auto repair shop….take a look at you bill…….there will be a ‘surcharge’ for shop supplies……I do not like that either….but if these people can get away with it why not Gator’s Dockside?

If one opposes taxes then one should be in opposition to this ‘surcharge’.  I was unaware that an individual could level taxes I thought that was the duty of the state…….call it what you like a tax is a tax…….I will admit that it is creative….but is it legal?

Enough said?

What Is In The Mandate?

Oh God!  The ballet has begun again…….the debate on the law called Obamacare.  Silliness and absurdity are the chorus…….we are hearing all the crap over and over….kinda like the House votes on repealing the Law, 39 times I believe and yet it is still the LAW!  GOP has its head firmly placed in their anus…….before we go on let me say something clever to the Right wing….Obamacare is LAW!  Get over it you twats!

The taxes and the fines and lastly that damn pesky MANDATE.  But wait what is the mandate?  Can you describe it without dashing to the Google machine?  (pause here for the clicking of keys in search of mandate on Google).

Ezra Klein has attempted to explain the mandate……..

The individual mandate is a requirement that all individuals who can afford health-care insurance purchase some minimally comprehensive policy. For the purposes of the law, “individuals who can afford health-care insurance” is defined as people for whom the minimum policy will not cost more than 8 percent of their monthly income, and who make more than the poverty line. So if coverage would cost more than 8 percent of your monthly income, or you’re making very little, you’re not on the hook to buy insurance (and, because of other provisions in the law, you’re getting subsidies that make insurance virtually costless anyway).

The theory behind the mandate is simple: It’s there to protect against an insurance death spiral. Now that insurers can’t discriminate based on preexisting conditions, it would be entirely possible for people to forgo insurance until, well, they develop a medical condition. In that world, the bulk of the people buying insurance on the exchanges are sick, and that makes the average premiums terrifically expensive. The mandate is there to bring healthy people into the pool, which keeps average costs down and also ensures that people aren’t riding free on the system by letting society pay when they get hit by a bus.

The irony of the mandate is that it’s been presented as a terribly onerous tax on decent, hardworking people who don’t want to purchase insurance. In reality, it’s the best deal in the bill: A cynical consumer would be smart to pay the modest penalty rather than pay thousands of dollars a year for insurance. In the current system, that’s a bad idea because insurers won’t let them buy insurance if they get sick later. In the reformed system, there’s no consequence for that behavior. You could pay the penalty for five years and then buy insurance the day you felt a lump.

The Right is fighting the law and in particular the mandate as a TAX….and we know how Americans have been brainwashed into a “no taxation” mode……now we can debate the legitimacy of the argument that it is a tax but it will always depend on your political ideology……..I want to believe that the consumer is smarter than the GOP gives them credit………(I say that and I live in a state where I question the mental capacity of 75% of the voters….so I could be mistaken)……..

Actually the law is too weak….more so than too punitive to the taxpayer……personally, it does not go far enough…..but I can live with it….for now….

Now you have an idea what the mandate is……there is so much more to the law but the mandate seems to be what most are focusing on….at least for this week……

Is This NOT Important?

I realize that Wisconsin situation and the horrible quake and tsunami are breaking stories and the world needs to hear them….but on the same hand there are things happening in news that are just as important….if not more so…..in a couple of months the two mentioned above will be replaced by other issues and most likely other disasters…..

There are things that the media will cull out of  the story board….why?  Most media outlets are owned and operated by corporate interests and some stories are not at all flattering and in as such will be either not reported or glazed over quickly and then move on…….Newser has reported on such a story……

A trove of leaked documents apparently reveals that Bank of America may have been involved in a scheme to bilk homeowners—a claim the bank rigorously denies. Hacker group Anonymous, which leaked the documents, says that more damning information is on the way, reports Business Insider. The emails, which allegedly come from an ex-employee of BoA subsidiary Balboa Insurance, apparently show the bank, insurance providers, and mortgage brokers all knew of a scheme to cancel people’s insurance agreements, forcing homeowners to buy much more expensive mortgage insurance far above normal requirements. Often, this would also lead to home foreclosures. Anonymous put BoA in its crosshairs last December after the bank cut off contributor payments to WikiLeaks. The hacker group has created bankofamericasucks.com,and promises to post more damning leaks. Bank of America, however, called the leaked materials non-foreclosure related clerical and administrative documents, telling Reuters: “We are confident that his extravagant assertions are untrue.”

And yet, this is somehow NOT important enough to be covered in its entirety…..WHY?

The best answer is……the media, the government and the country are ruled by special interests and the people are there only to service them….for the people NOTHING!

A Sad Day For Vets

Daily Agitator

This is one of the most disgusting stories this year!

Lots have been said about the care of vets and their treatment…..remember the sad condition of the vet hospital in Washington?  Remember the high number of suicides?  Remember the church that protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers?  The list goes on and on….all this is shabby and should be a crime but there is one that I could hardly believe when I first read it………this piece was posted on the Newser website:

It turns out that insurers handling death benefits for American soldiers have got a sweet scam going that enables them to keep profiting from the money even after it is supposedly paid out to families. They tell bereaved relatives that they’ve opened a convenient, interest-bearing account for their money that’s a nice, safe place to keep it and they give them a “checkbook.” But it’s not a normal checkbook, they don’t open individual accounts for each soldier, and they skim off most of the interest the money is making—giving beneficiaries 1% while it’s earning 4%.The military families are getting less than half the interest they would in a normal account, Bloomberg reports. Not only that, the money held in these general corporate accounts at Prudential or MetLife, isn’t insured by the FDIC. Prudential says they make it clear to military families that they can take their money out anytime they want, but an insurance law professor isn’t impressed. “It’s institutionalized bad faith,” he says. “It’s turning death claims into a profit center.”

Read more: http://www.newser.com/story/96760/insurers-rip-off-families-of-fallen-us-soldiers.html#ixzz0v6QzD2fA

Remember the names of the insurance companies….write them and let them know how you feel about their tactics toward the families of fallen soldiers…..this is what capitalism is all about?!  This is just a horrible thing to do to families after their loss.  This is CRIMINAL and these a/holes should be prosecuted and prosecuted hard……As a veteran who lost 9 of my closest friends in war…I find this offensive and unacceptable in all ways….there is a special place in Hell for pricks like these companies!